San Jose State, Utah State
Are Officially Members Of The Mountain West

We are pleased to announce the addition of San Josť State University and Utah State University to the ranks of the Mountain West," said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. "As we have developed the strategy for the future of the Conference, the long-standing rivalries with our current members and the fit within our geographic footprint made these two institutions the optimal choices to strengthen our membership and position ourselves for the next steps."

Those next steps include continued consideration of a future association between Conference USA and the Mountain West. The two leagues have synchronized their new membership decisions and are still determining what form the alliance will take.

As conference realignment continues to lead the Western Athletic Conference to extinction, New Mexico State has the backing of its instate rival.

Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said New Mexico State and Idaho were brought up in recent discussions to expand the conference. Thompson also said the University of New Mexico vouched for NMSU's inclusion into the conference.

Boise State, San Diego State and BYU have had conversations with Mountain West membership about the possibility of returning to the league, sources told ESPN.

The talks originated after last week's decision in Denver by the BCS commissioners to award an automatic access bowl berth to the highest-rated champion to the "Group of Five" conferences. That decision in essence put the Mountain West on equal footing, as far as playoff access is concerned, with the Big East starting in 2014.